Response to Moser’s (2010) Critique of Hypersexual Disorder for DSM-5

Moser (2001) has long been a consistent critic of the empirical basis of the inclusion of paraphilic disorders in the APA’s diagnostic manuals and has, to date, already published two Letters to the Editor of this Journal critical of the Paraphilias Subworkgroup’s DSM-5 proposals (Moser, 2009, 2010b).

In Moser’s (2010a) current letter criticizing our proposal for Hypersexual Disorder as “just more muddled thinking,” he restates many of the general criticisms that he has previously raised about paraphilic disorders. Interestingly, he agrees that “there are people who have difficulty controlling their sexual fantasies, urges, and behaviors” and that “these individuals may benefit from psychiatric intervention” but only asserts “The present formulation of Hypersexual Disorder does not describe these individuals.” He offers no counter proposal as to how to better define such a condition.

Many of his specific criticisms of Hypersexual Disorder reflect a combination of misunderstanding,...